That certainly was the case in Pittsburgh’s 58-43 victory over Villanova Wednesday night at the Pavilion.

The Wildcats came into the game 11-0 when Ryan Arcidiacono, James Bell and Darrun Hilliard combine to make at least four 3-point baskets. That trio teamed up for five triples, but even that could not keep Villanova from dropping its second straight game.

Pitt’s defense made sure of that. The Panthers (14-4 overall, 2-3 Big East), who are headed to the Atlantic Coast Conference next season, made sure their final trip to the Philadelphia area as a member of the Big East was a successful one.

In case you have forgotten, the building opening in 1986. It also was the fewest points Villanova has scored since a 46-41 loss to Georgetown in the 2002-03 Big East Tournament.

“I have to congratulate Pitt on just a great defensive effort,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “I thought they were outstanding. We just couldn’t break through. We couldn’t go inside out on them. Their ball-screen defense was outstanding. We just couldn’t score.”

Hilliard was the only Wildcat to have any kind of success against the Panthers. The 6-6 sophomore was the only Villanova player in double figures with 14 points, which he scored on 4-for-7 shooting from the field and 3-for-3 sniping from 3-point range. However, even Hilliard could not score against the Pitt defense in the second half. He missed the only two shots he attempted in the final 20 minutes as the Panthers limited the Wildcats to 20 points.

Everyone else struggled. Leading scorer JayVaughn Pinkston had eight points, but was just 2-for-6 from the field. Mouphtaou Yarou had seven points on 2-for-8 shooting. Arcidiacono and Bell tallied five points each, but were a combined 4-for-14 from the field and 2-for-11 from 3-point range.

“They were tough defensively,” Hilliard said. “I got my shots in the first half, but I still feel like we just didn’t do what we usually do on the offensive end, like offensive rebound and get second chance point.”

Second-chance points and bench points are usually two of the statistical categories the Wildcats dominate, but not Wednesday. Pitt’s bench outscored Villanova’s reserves, 31-8, led by Trey Zeigler and Durand Johnson with 13 points each.

The Panthers also had an 11-0 edge in second-chance points. It’s hard to get those second chance points when you only have one offensive rebound as a team.

“It was important for us to be tough on the defensive end and on the boards right out of the gate,” Zeigler said. “They’re a very good team and we knew we had to stay after them.”

Eventually, Pitt wore Villanova down with its constant defensive pressure.

The Wildcats were able to hang tough, and even had a 32-25 lead early in the second half, but Pitt made sure it saved its best defense for the end. The Panthers held Villanova scoreless in the final 5 minutes, 12 seconds after Bell turned a steal into a game-tying dunk.

That was it for the Wildcats, the high-water mark. The rest of the game belonged to Pitt as the Panthers scored the final 15 points to win going away.

“We just didn’t make shots,” Wright said. “And when you don’t make shots that usually means the other team is playing pretty good defense.”